Perry victory could help him win senate seat if Duncan appointed Tech chancellor

His overwhelming defeat of Steve Massengale — president of the Lubbock Independent School District Board of Trustees — in Tuesday’s Republican primary gave Perry the political capital he hasn’t had in the three years he has represented Texas House District 83.

For starters, if the Texas Tech Board of Regents were to appoint Sen. Robert Duncan chancellor of the university system when Kent Hance becomes chancellor emeritus later this year, Perry would be considered the leading contender to replace the Lubbock lawmaker, said Rice University professor Mark P. Jones.

“If Duncan is appointed chancellor, Charles Perry is likely to be unopposed or not have a credible (Republican) opponent,” said Jones who follows the careers of all 181 members of the Texas Legislature. “With Perry’s (3-1) margin of victory, unless he does something to tarnish his image, he would have to be considered the odds favorite to win Duncan’s seat.”

But even if the Regents bypass Duncan, Perry will have a good chance of getting a leadership position in the House, because when he begins his third two-year term in January, he will have enough seniority and experience for such an appointment or at least remain on the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee.

“Charles Perry has worked hard and has done a lot of good things for Lubbock and for West Texas,” said Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, the dean of the Texas Panhandle/South Plains delegation.

“He is in good terms with the speaker and works well with his colleagues,” Smithee said. “I would think he would be in the running for a (committee) chairmanship or for the chairmanship of an Appropriations subcommittee,”

In his first session in 2011, Perry and then-Rep. Jim Landtroop, R-Plainview, were among 15 House members who voted against Straus when the San Antonio Republican was seeking his second term as speaker.

However, Perry and Straus have been in good terms since later that year and in last year’s session Straus appointed him to the Appropriations panel, the most influential committee in the chamber.

Perry said though he is flattered by such comments, he is now focused on the next session.

“I’ll cross that bridge if or when I have to,” Perry said about talk that he could succeed Duncan if the Tech regents appoint the Lubbock senator as the next chancellor. “Out of respect for Senator Duncan and for this great institution, I don’t think I should add to the speculation.”

But Perry does consider himself ready for a leadership position in the House, if Straus taps him when the Legislature is back in session. Since he does not have a Democratic or any other opponent in the Nov. 4 general election, for all practical purposes Tuesday’s vote was all he needed to win a third two-year term.

He has worked hard to represent HD 83 and West Texas and his constituents approve of the job he has done and Tuesday’s vote proves it, Perry said.

“With their vote, people supported me because I’ve done everything I said I would when I first ran for this office,” he said.

Some of his other colleagues from the delegation said they are glad Perry was re-elected because they all work well together and this is critical in an institution where getting along is not always easy.

“We all work very well together, but Charles Perry, Four Price, R-Amarillo, and I were elected the same year and we have developed a very close working relationship,” said Rep. John Frullo, also a Lubbock Republican.

So continuity and team work is important because they are a small delegation and everyone plays a critical role, Frullo said. This was also in reference to Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, who also won his primary in Senate District 31

Price said he was just as glad Perry was re-elected because if he had lost, it would have meant a critical loss of seniority for the region since Massengale would have been a freshman.

“I don’t want to minimize personal abilities, but this is a system where seniority and experience are key factors in getting committee appointments or leadership roles,” said Price, who also sits on the Appropriations Committee.

“And the fact that he was re-elected by such a big margin definitely helps Charles and our region,” Price said.

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